The purpose of this study is to trace and explain what appears as the widespread deterioration of working class community life, by reference to the de-industrialization of cities. During the past two to three decades, traditional working class community in many city localities has given way to underclass or "lumpenproletarian" formations, characterized by a shifting and fluid associated life, and a mental outlook often marked by self-degradation. The study advances the thesis that de-industrialization, manifested primarily in the decline in manufacturing and related activities, erodes the networks of economic, social and psychological support ordinarily developed in working class communities, as adaptations to the class circumstances in which people find themselves. These networks are both structural and cultural, encompassing organizations, institutions, traditions and values, and they define how a group perceives and reacts to its life chances. They are rooted not only in community but also in workplace, and thus are highly sensitive to shifts in economic and occupational structure. Moreover, they are self-developed networks, a quality for which there is no apparent substitute. To test this thesis, three New York City working class communities--East Harlem, Williamsburg and Brownsville--will be chosen for intensive contemporary and historical study of changes in occupational structure, industrial base and networks of support. The study will employ field interviews and observation, and statistical and historical sources.